Review: Vince Flynn’s Enemy of the State – A Mitch Rapp Novel by Kyle Mills

When the CIA learns that the nephew of the King of Saudi Arabia is funding an impending ISIS attack on American soil, US President Josh Alexander finds himself unable to officially act. Nonetheless determined to retaliate, he calls upon legendary operative Mitch Rapp for a blacker-than-black mission to assassinate Prince Talal bin Musaid. If he accepts the mission, Rapp would need to cut all ties with the agency and his allies, and utilise the criminal contacts of his partner / lover Claudia to accomplish his objective. Failure would result in Rapp being disavowed, left to fend for himself. The safety blanket he has benefited from during his two decades as a counter-terrorism agent would be ripped out from under him. Rapp would be alone, and on the run, a target of worldwide intelligence services. You got it: he would be an — [insert audible gasp] — enemy of the state. Hardly a tantalising proposition, but this is Mitch Rapp we’re talking about, the equivalent of Britain’s James Bond, whose dedication to the protection of his country circumvents any concern for personal safety. Naturally he accepts the President’s clandestine mission.

Enemy of State is the sixteenth Mitch Rapp thriller, the third penned by Kyle Mills, who took over from Vince Flynn following the author’s death, and readers who’ve enjoyed the previous fifteen novels will find much to enjoy here. The action comes thick and fast, and while there’s never any doubt as to who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong, there’s always something thrilling about seeing a long-running protagonist cut loose and abandoned by his allies. Trouble is, that particular plot thread — an outcast Mitch Rapp — isn’t utilised to its fullest extent. The manhunt for Rapp could’ve — and in my opinion, should’ve — been prolonged, and it would’ve been exciting to see Rapp face up against former friends. Unfortunately that must remain the stuff of fan fiction. Instead, Rapp’s enemy status serves only to convolute his search for the prince; it plays an important factor in proceedings, of course, but it feels a tad under cooked.

Enemy of the State is good entertainment for readers with a penchant for fast-paced thrills, with enough evildoers left over to ensure Mitch Rapp’s return. Will satisfy fans —and newcomers, too.